Mikel Otxoteko. Artist, researcher, and UNIR Master’s professor
Develops artistic research projects at the intersection of experimental anthropology and image-making practices. His PhD Audiovisual Arts and Neo-materialism (UPV/EHU) received international distinction and included an invitation from filmmaker Manuel DeLanda as a visiting researcher at Pratt Institute, New York.
He has developed projects such as Dance & Drill and Algunos cabos sueltos, presented at institutions including Musée d’Art Contemporain Les Abattoirs (Toulouse), Centre del Carme Cultura Contemporánea (Valencia), and The Rag Factory (London). His film Invierno (2019) screened at festivals including Cinespaña and Zinebi.
His project Aquí hay dragones, shown at San Telmo Museoa and Centro Cultural Montehermoso, was developed through research stays in Newfoundland and Puerto Rico. He is currently working on a new project in the Mojave Desert (California).
This website has received support from the Department of Culture and Linguistic Policy of the Basque Government.
Installation with graphic documents and videos on cultural identity on the island of Saint Pierre. The ensemble highlights the colonial past of the archipelago and the weight that Basque culture still has today.
La Exposición Colonial Internacional de París de 1931 emplazó en una isleta del parque de Vincennes el Pabellón de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon. El decorado creado idealizada fatalmente la identidad cultural de los Saintpierreses. Coincidiendo en el tiempo, Al Capone se desplazado en persona al archipiélago para convertir Saint-Pierre en un enorme almacén a través del cual canalizar hacia los Estados Unidos el alcohol de contrabando. Con ayuda de los vascos de Lapurdi, se levantaron para ello grandes construcciones de hormigón que aún hoy siguen en pie haciendo visible la verdadera historia. Esta pieza de vídeo propone una reflexión sobre el poder de las representaciones.
ZAZPIAK BAT, 2023, 11 min, HD video
The Zazpiak Bat was probably the first Basque pelota court built in America. A symbol of history and culture, linked to the European continent, it was erected by Basque sailors in 1897. Initially built of wood, it was destroyed due to internal conflicts at the beginning of the 20th century and later erected in concrete on the same site. Today men’s and women’s teams train daily and hold competitions.
Deportistas: Elodie Hebditch, Malika Plaa, Lora Perrin, Mélanie Janil
Cámara 1: Ione Atenea Lameiro
Cámara 2: Mikel Otxoteko
Realización: Mikel Otxoteko
Financiación: Gobierno Vasco y Museo San Telmo de Donostia